3 ms·
Would the illusion provide us with accurate rules to distinguish felines from other animals? "Felines" as a group exist only as a cognitive shortcut. Looking a
by thirdtruck 14y ago
Would the illusion provide us with accurate rules to distinguish felines from other animals?
"Felines" as a group exist only as a cognitive shortcut. Looking at the genetic and evolutionary data, we find a continuum where felines and other families bleed together in a very fine gradient. We just happened to draw boundaries in the interest of productive discussion. We will never find "the essence of feline nature" because there is no such concrete thing as a "feline" which would have such.
For a human example: at what point do we stop being conscious when falling asleep?
- memla 14y agoHe didn't ask you whether there are accurate rules for distinguishing between felines and other families, he specifically and precisely asked you if you can deduce those rules from the illusion! It's the same inference you were trying to make about the nature of the self. Read more carefully.
- thirdtruck 14y agoShort answer: no. Long answer: no, because we derive these distinctions from the real world instead, changing them as necessary to better reflect new knowledge. See "birds are dinosuars" and "the brontosaurus never existed".